Rohit Verma

Professor at Cornell School of Hotel Administration

Rohit Verma, Ph.D., is a professor of service operations management at the Cornell University School of Hotel
Administration (SHA), where he is also the coordinator for MBAMMH Dual Degree Programs, and formerly was
executive director of the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research. He has published in and serves on the editorial
boards of several prestigious business and hospitality journals and is co-author, co-editor, or contributor to several
books related to effective management of service businesses.

The modern world places stresses on us like never before. Paradoxically, despite our near-permanent state of connectedness, one manifestation of the social pressures we are under is an epidemic of loneliness.

When Captain Kirk or Mr. Spock needed information, they would hail the Enterprise's computer, and the computer would respond to their request. In 1966, that was an amazing piece of science fiction. Now, with Siri, Alexa, and other devices with artificial intelligence, we all are figuratively standing on the bridge of the Enterprise, speaking to devices that are "listening" to us and fulfilling our simple requests.

The hospitality industry has finally embraced the challenge of tackling sustainability, with most hotel groups believing that operating a sustainable company is not just “a nice thing to do” but the new way of doing business, say Rutgers University’s Matthew Walsman and Cornell’s Rohit Verma.

Executive Summary: Certain sustainability practices could be considered nearly universal in the lodging industry, based on a study of 100 resorts in the United States. Among the common green practices are water conserving fixtures and linen-reuse programs.

It’s become a tradition that The Hotel Yearbook’s annual edition kicks off with an overview of the major trends affecting the industry, as compiled by Rohit Verma and Glenn Withiam of the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research.